Todd’s Take: Darian DeVries Is A Steady Hand Indiana Needs To Guide Its Future

Darian DeVries isn’t flashy. What he demonstrated on Wednesday during his first press conference was a quiet confidence in his process and how it helps his teams win.

Todd Golden | Mar 19, 2025

Indiana University men's basketball Head Coach Darian DeVries speaks at the introductory press conference at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Indiana Hoosiers

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – I’ve been to a lot of introductory press conferences – including several for new Indiana men’s basketball coaches – and the cliché is to win the press conference.

I’d like to say it’s overrated, and if it’s not backed up with substance, it is overrated. But whether I like to admit it or not, that first impression does matter.

Look at the table Curt Cignetti set for himself with Indiana football when he was hired in 2023. He was bouncing off the walls, relentlessly selling himself and the confidence he had in his methods. It made an impression on Indiana fans at a time when football enthusiasm needed a lift.

However, we only remember it fondly because Cignetti backed up his words with winning on the field. Had Indiana not won, Cignetti’s manner when he came to Bloomington likely would have been mocked.

Like any sport, there’s more than one way to win a press conference. Demonstrating his self-belief in himself was Cignetti’s way of doing so. How would Darian DeVries set the table when he was introduced as men’s basketball coach at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Wednesday?

With DeVries, you’re not going to get flash; that’s not who he is. He’s probably closer to Archie Miller in personality than some fans might be comfortable with, but unlike the severe manner that Miller often gave off, DeVries’ all-business approach seems to come from a place of latent enthusiasm that he doesn’t necessarily express in an excitable way.

Think of a researcher who wants to try something he is confident will work. He’s got the data, he will put in the work, let the method speak for itself. That’s the vibe DeVries gave off.

In DeVries, you got someone who honestly, but confidently, stated his plan, how he succeeds with it and how Indiana will benefit.

Nothing flashy, nothing controversial. A steady hand on the tiller.

That might seem boring to fans who want a personality, but DeVries’ earnest way of approaching success is what Indiana needs.

Indiana does not need to make emotional appeals to a past that has proven impossible to recapture in the last two decades. Indiana does not need a coach who goes too far in his desire to innovate, while still needing a coach who’s open-minded to change in the sport. Indiana does not need a huckster.

Indiana needs a man with a plan that has been proven to work. That’s what it got.

It was part of the plan all along. DeVries was appealing to Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson as part of his research-based approach. That was in contrast to the somewhat emotional avenue that led to Mike Woodson’s arrival. Dolson mentioned that the data philosophies that were used to identify Cignetti were repeated in identifying DeVries.

Indiana University Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Scott Dolson introduces new men's basketball Head Coach Darian DeVries at the introductory press conference at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

However, while the method might be Dolson’s, the sentiment to react in a 180-degree difference from the previous coach is nothing new. In that sense, DeVries is just the latest example for the Hoosiers in their hunt for the right coach to try to rekindle Indiana’s winning tradition.

When Kelvin Sampson was hired in 2006, the idea was to get an experienced coach – a contrast to the inexperienced Mike Davis, who was thrust into the position as an interim coach in 2000 when Bob Knight was fired.

After the Sampson debacle of NCAA sanctions, Indiana wanted a clean coach with a reputation of building a program while selling it to the public. Enter Tom Crean.

When Crean’s year-to-year inconsistency got the better of him, Indiana wanted a coach who had fewer peaks and valleys. Archie Miller had never had a losing season at Dayton, so he made the most sense.

When Miller flamed out, it got into the spirit of the fanbase that Indiana needed one of its own to try to recapture the Knight tradition. That begot Mike Woodson.

DeVries is unquestionably a reaction to the shortcomings of Woodson. I think without intending it, some of the things DeVries stated as hallmarks of his programs are things Woodson wouldn’t or couldn’t implement.

“I think the biggest thing and where you can get yourself in trouble is you're not building a collection of players. You have to build a team, and a team has to be able to fit together, play together, win together, be able to function together,” DeVries said.

Woodson was often accused of throwing talent on the floor and hoping it would come together organically rather than fit players together from a specific plan of action.

“I think when you're very particular about the guys you recruit and don't give into it, the process is the process. Your standards are your standards. Make sure that when we go out that we're not making exceptions to what we believe is important,” DeVries said.

“I know our staff, sometimes we get frustrated with, like, ‘Hey, we got this kid, we can get here, here's a few of the red flags, and we're out.’ We just really believe that locker room is critical because you cannot survive without a good locker room. That's what we'll always make our focus,” DeVries added.

Woodson could never successfully articulate his philosophy on acquiring talent.

“Shooting is a critical piece. We're in a pretty decent spot. We lost a couple of our better shooters to injury this year so it did impact a little bit of our overall shooting for the season, but as we move forward and build a roster and roster construction, we want plenty of depth in the shooting areas because I think you can't win if you don't make shots. That's a huge priority for us,” DeVries said.

Lack of shooting depth was an oft-criticized part of Woodson’s roster construction.

Laying out a plan is great. It’s something Indiana needed. It’s something DeVries’ track record promises he can provide. It sure beats the flying-by-the-seat-of-the-pants approach Woodson gave off.

New Indiana University Men's Basketball Head Coach Darian DeVries waits to be introduced at the introductory press conference at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Steady hand on the tiller or no, DeVries won’t get much rope from the fanbase in making it work. One of DeVries’ selling points were his rapid turnarounds at both Drake and West Virginia. His own record of reclamation jobs puts pressure on him to succeed right away. The presence of a large NIL kitty just amplifies that dynamic.

So does the success of Cignetti. Fair or unfair, football’s rapid turnaround from losers to College Football Playoff participant raises the bar very high for DeVries in his season.

There’s no reason to believe DeVries’ methods won’t work. Based on DeVries’ track record, it has never failed before. Perhaps the quiet confidence and self-belief in the method is all it takes? Indiana fans will hope words like this will be galvanized by results.

“We want to build something that is sustainable for a long period of time, and we will do that by staying true to what this program is about. We will know when we have made it when every time a fan, a booster, an alumni, or a former player comes to watch us play and turns on the TV, and after that game is over, that they are filled with pride because they have so much respect for how our team plays, how unselfish they are, the joy they play with, and the enthusiasm they play with and their love for this university,” DeVries stated.

“Once we get there where everyone can watch us on a nightly basis and they can say with great pride on a consistent level that that is my team, that is when the banners will rise again. It's time for us to get to work,” DeVries said.

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